Research
Energy balance
Sustained caloric restriction (approx. 12-25% reduction) in healthy non-obese adults for two years is safe and well-tolerated, with no deaths and only minor adverse events, despite causing modest bone mineral density loss and hematocrit drops.
If you are healthy and not obese, restricting calories by about 12-25% for two years is generally safe and well-tolerated. You should take calcium and multivitamins, and get regular check-ups to monitor bone density and blood counts, as these may drop slightly.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Two-years of CR at levels achieved in CALERIE was safe and well tolerated. Close monitoring for excessive bone loss and anemia is important.
Why this rating
Multi-center, randomized controlled trial with rigorous safety monitoring, though limited by sample size for rare events.
Source
Safety of two-year caloric restriction in non-obese healthy individuals
Sergei Romashkan et al. · Oncotarget · 2016
DOI 10.18632/oncotarget.8093
rct · n=218Cited 54×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Sustained caloric restriction in non-obese adults leads to a statistically significant but clinically small loss of bone mineral density (BMD) at the hip and spine, increasing fracture risk by an estimated 0.2% over 10 years.Good
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